As a section formed in 2013 from the Special Populations Section, Bookmobile Roundtable, and GLBTI Roundtable, the Diversity & Outreach Section tries to bring programs to the NJLA Annual Conference that empower our peers to consider and engage underrepresented communities. In previous years, we have offered Conference programs focused on services to patrons with disabilities, LGBTQ patrons, immigrants, and more. We aim for our program attendees to walk away with renewed energy to serve their community in unique and meaningful ways.

One of our programs this year is called Let’s Listen: Presenting Diverse Oral Histories. Oral histories capture and preserve the stories, experiences, and memories of living people. It’s a way for communities to shape their own histories and narratives by sharing stories might otherwise be forgotten or erased. Our program will explore how public librarians can work with public historians to collect and preserve oral histories in the communities they serve!

We’ll hear from Kristyn Scorsone of the Queer Newark Oral History Project (QNOHP), founded in 2011 with the goal of preserving the history of Newark’s LGBTQ community. Just a sampling of their work includes recording interviews with queer Newarkers about their lives, conducting research into Newark’s LGBTQ past, and publishing online public history. For the past few years, QNOHP has been actively involved in the Telling Untold Histories Unconference, which brings together scholars, students, librarians, archivists, and community members for a day of listening and learning.